Tag Archives: addiction treatment

Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

June 25, 2014

Are you having an alcoholism Problem?

addiction withdrawaAlcohol withdrawal refers to an assemblage of symptoms that may occur from suddenly discontinuing with the use of alcohol after chronic or prolonged ingestion. Not everyone who stops drinking experiences withdrawal symptoms, but most people who have been drinking for a long period of time, or drinking frequently, or drink heavily when they do drink, will experience some form of withdrawal symptoms if they stop drinking suddenly.

What Is It?

Alcohol withdrawal is the fluctuations the body goes through when a person suddenly stops consumption after prolonged and heavy alcohol use. Symptoms include trembling (shakes), insomnia, anxiety, and other physical and mental symptoms. Alcohol has a decelerating effect (also called a sedating effect or depressant effect) on the brain. In a heavy, long-term drinker, the brain is almost continually exposed to the depressant effect of alcohol. Over time, the brain adjusts its own chemistry to compensate for the effect of the alcohol. It does this by producing naturally stimulating chemicals (such as serotonin or norepinephrine, which is a relative of adrenaline) in larger quantities than normal. If the alcohol is withdrawn suddenly, the brain is like an accelerated vehicle that has lost its brakes. Not surprisingly, most symptoms of withdrawal are symptoms that occur when the brain is over stimulated. The most hazardous form of alcohol withdrawal occurs in about one out of every twenty people who have withdrawal symptoms. This condition is called delirium tremens (also called DTs). In delirium tremens, the brain is not able to smoothly readjust its chemistry after alcohol is stopped. This creates a state of temporary confusion and leads to dangerous changes in the way your brain regulates your circulation and breathing. The body’s vital signs such as your heart rate or blood pressure can change dramatically or capriciously, generating a risk of heart attack, stroke or death.

  • Pathophysiology

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is mediated by a variety of mechanisms. The brain maintains neurochemical balance through inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. The main inhibitory neurotransmitter is γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA), which acts through the GABA-alpha (GABA-A) neuroreceptor. One of the major excitatory neurotransmitters is glutamate, which acts through the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neuroreceptor.

Alcohol enhances the effect of GABA on GABA-A neuroreceptors, resulting in decreased overall brain excitability. Chronic exposure to alcohol results in a compensatory decrease of GABA-A neuroreceptor response to GABA, evidenced by increasing tolerance of the effects of alcohol.

What causes withdrawal?

Alcohol thinning is a physical reaction to cutting down or discontinuing alcohol use. It is most common in people who are heavy drinkers because they have developed a tolerance to alcohol. Alcohol acts in the central nervous system by changing the balance of neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that send messages between nerves. Alcohol reduces the effect of excitatory neurotransmitters, and increases the effect of inhibitory neurotransmitters, altering the natural balance of the nervous system. Over time, the brain tries to fix this unevenness by increasing the activity of the excitatory neurotransmitters and reducing the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitters. When alcohol is suddenly taken away, this compensatory effect keeps going, resulting in over activity of the excitatory neurotransmitters and under activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitters. This causes withdrawal syndromes.

What Are the Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms?

Withdrawal symptoms are hinged on the amount you were drinking and for how long. Some persons will have only mild symptoms while others will have severe, even life-threatening symptoms.

  • Mild to moderate symptoms

These can start from six to forty eight hours after people stop drinking or cut down, and usually last one to five days. They include: Shaking, Sweating, Racing heart, Feeling sick and vomiting, Headaches, Trouble sleeping, Feeling anxious or agitated, and Hallucinations

  • Very severe symptoms

Seizures -Usually occur within the first two days, it occur in about 2-9% of alcohol dependent people. Delirium tremens’ Usually occur 3-4 days after stopping drinking and typically resolves within 3 days, it occurs in about 5% of people admitted to hospital for alcohol problems Includes: Vivid hallucinations, confusion and disorientation ,agitation and hyperactivity, Insomnia, trembling, racing heart, sweating and fever.

Diagnosis

addiction withdrawal symptomsAlcohol withdrawal is easy to identify if you have distinctive symptoms that occur after you stop hefty, habitual drinking. If you have a past experience of withdrawal symptoms, you are likely to have them return if you start and stop heavy drinking again. There are no specific tests that can be used to diagnose alcohol withdrawal. If you have withdrawal symptoms from drinking, then you have consumed enough alcohol to damage other organs. It is a good idea for your doctor to examine you prudently and do blood tests, checking for alcohol-related damage to your liver, heart, nerves in your feet, blood cell counts, and gastrointestinal tract. Your doctor will evaluate your usual diet and check for vitamin deficiencies because poor nutrition is common when someone is dependent on alcohol. It is customarily difficult for people who drink to be entirely honest about how much they’ve been drinking. You should bang your drinking history straightforwardly to your doctor so you can be treated safely for withdrawal symptom.

Obtain Expert Help and Care at the New Frontier Medicine Academy

Our good and hardworking team of experts from New Frontier will toil with you persistently until you lastly heal from alcohol withdrawal symptoms. We treat all consumers in an exceptional manner after listening to their problems and assessing their conditions. Your well-being is our duty consequently we will not only help you from alcohol withdrawing symptoms but also get you back into a faultless shape. Heal your body, mind and spirit so you start a whole new life free of liquor and depression. Visit New Frontier for reliable results.

Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

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Addiction Medicine; Natural Treatment

June 20, 2014

Excel In Addiction Medicine Specialty 

 

Addiction medicine is a medical specialty that deals with the treatment of addiction. The specialty often crosses over into other areas, since various aspects of addiction fall within the fields of public health, psychology, social work, mental health counseling, psychiatry, and internal medicine, among others. Amalgamated within the specialty are the processes of detoxification, rehabilitation, harm reduction, abstinence-based treatment, separate and group therapies, oversight of halfway houses, management of withdrawal-related symptoms, acute intervention, and long term therapies designed to reduce likelihood of relapse . Some specialists, primarily those who also have expertise in family medicine or internal medicine, also provide treatment for disease states commonly associated with substance use, such as hepatitis and HIV infection.

addiction medicine

Addiction Medicine

Physicians specializing in the field are in general agreement concerning applicability of treatment to those with addiction to drugs, such as alcohol and heroin, and often also to gambling, which has similar characteristics and has been well described in the scientific literature. There is less contract concerning definition or treatment of other so-called addictive behavior such as sexual addiction and internet addiction, such performances not being marked generally by physiologic tolerance or withdrawal.

Doctors concentrating on addiction medicine are medical authorities who focus on addictive disease and have had special study and training focusing on the prevention and treatment of such diseases. There are two routes to specialization in the addiction field: one via a psychiatric pathway and one via other fields of medicine. The new frontier Society of Addiction Medicine notes that approximately a percentage of its members are psychiatrists while the remainder have received medical training in other fields.

Studies have found that, despite the prevalence of addiction, the enormity of its consequences, the availability of effective clarifications and the evidence that addiction is a disease, both screening and early intervention for risky substance use are rare, and only about 1 in 10 people with addiction involving alcohol or drugs other than nicotine receive any form of treatment.

Of those who do receive treatment, few receive anything that approximates evidence-based care. This compares with seventy% to eighty% of people with such diseases as high blood pressure and diabetes who do receive treatment. This report exposes the fact that most medical professionals who should be providing addiction action are not sufficiently trained to diagnose or treat the disease, and most of those providing addiction care are not medical professionals and are not equipped with the knowledge, skills or credentials necessary to provide the full range of effective treatments

The time has come for addiction medicine to be fully integrated into health care systems and medical practice. Health care providers, especially physicians, are our front line in disease prevention and treatment. They must understand the risk factors for addiction, screen for risky substance use and intervene when needed, and diagnose, treat and manage addiction just as they do all other diseases.

The Treatment Options for Addiction.

addiction medicine

Addiction Medicine

The first step for the addicted individual is to acknowledge that there is a substance dependency problem addiction problem. The next step is to get help. In most of the world there are several support groups and expert services available. Treatment options for habit depend on several factors, including what type of substance it is and how it affects the patients. Typically, treatment includes a combination of inpatient and outpatient programs, counseling, psychotherapy, self-help groups, pairing with individual sponsors, and medication.

  • Treatment programs – these typically focus on getting sober and preventing relapses. Individual, group and/or family sessions may form part of the program. Depending on the level of addiction, patient behaviors, and type of material this may be in outpatient or residential settings.
  • Analysis – there may be one-to-one (one-on-one) or family sessions with a specialist.

Help with coping with cravings, avoiding the substance, and dealing with possible relapses are key to effective addiction programs. If the patient’s family can become complicated there is a better probability of positive outcomes.

  • Support groups – these may help the patient meet other people with the same problem, which often boosts motivation. Self-help groups can be a useful source of education and information too. Examples comprise Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. For those dependent on nicotine, ask your doctor or nurse for information on local self-help groups.
  • Help by withdrawal symptoms – the main aim is usually to get the addictive substance out of the patient’s body as quickly as possible. Sometimes the addict is given gradually reduced dosages (tapering). In some cases a substitute matter is given. Depending on what the person is addicted to, as well as some other factors, the doctor may recommend treatment either as an outpatient or inpatient.

The doctor or addiction expert may recommend either an outpatient or inpatient residential treatment center. Withdrawal treatment options vary and depend mainly on what substance the individual is addicted to:

  • Addiction to depressants – these may include dependence on barbiturates or benzodiazepines. During withdrawal the patient may experience anxiety insomnia, sweating and restlessness. In rare cases there may be whole-body tremors, seizures, hallucinations, hypertension (high blood pressure), accelerated heart rate and fever. In severe cases there may be delirium, which according to the Mayo Clinic, USA, could be life-threatening.
  • Addiction to stimulants – these may include cocaine and other amphetamines. During withdrawal the patient may experience tiredness, depression, anxiety, moodiness, low enthusiasm, sleep disturbances, and low concentration. Treatment focuses on providing support, unless the depression is severe, in which case a medication may be prescribed.
  • Addiction to opioids – Opioids are a class of drugs that are commonly prescribed for their analgesics or pain killing, properties. They include substances such as morphine, codeine, oxycodone, and methadone.

The addiction medicine physician is a key member of the health care team at New Frontiers in Medicine Academy are trained to coordinate and provide consultation services for other physicians and to use community resources when appropriate. Some addiction medicine physicians limit their practice to patients with addiction or other patterns of unhealthy substance use for the wellbeing of human affected.

Excel In Addiction Medicine Specialty

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How Alcohol Affects Your Health

June 16, 2014

Effects of Alcoholism on Your Body

Ever known the effects those bottles of beer, wines and spirits could do to your health after an extended span of continuous consumption? Well, its deleterious, the result could be bizarre and if not dealt with in time one might sadly succumb to the complications that come with it. Don’t get it twisted; even moderate drinking could possibly lead to short time impairment. Below please find the most commonly known negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption over a long period of time.

Drinking heavily and excessively over a long period of time could easily lead to brain damage. Imagine being a slave to alcohol so much so that you always seem drunk even after getting back to sobriety? You don’t want to have blurred vision, seen staggering, have sluggish response or speech even after being sober. People always think of you as drunk even when sober?

This is exactly where veteran drinker is bound to end up to if they don’t stop drinking. Alcohol literally alters the neurotransmitter system of the brain. By so doing, the transmission of impulses to the brain falls short of their work and in turn interrupts with daily activities.

  • Long time effects of alcohol.

This varies from our age to gender to weight. Though as time goes by and the abuse and use of alcohol increases, gender does not really mater. Alcohol also contains chemical that can harm one now and in future. With all the chemicals used in alcohol nowadays, the damage can come rather sooner than later. Alcohol if not consumed in moderation and in full stomach can cause liver and kidney damage alongside other organs in our body.

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Alcohol can also cause damage to our heart if u take it in heavy and frequently. It gets riskier every time you consume it. It can also earn you high blood pressure and as we all know, high blood pressure has been branded as the silent killer. It shuts your system slowly but surely killing and destroying most organs in our system. Who can survive without this most vital organs?

  • High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure caused by effects of alcohol can also lead to stroke. It doesn’t need rocket science to know what stroke is and how it affects us. Stroke as we all know is rarely treated or cured so to say. It can also mess up our cardiovascular system, heart beat irregularities have also been linked to effects of alcohol. The irregularities of the heart beat can also lead to chest pain that go as far as deny you the most precious, expensive yet very FREE thing in this life. BREATHE!!

Alcohol can also slap you with a reward called CANCER. It could be cancer of the breast, colon or the bowel. Please note the keyword here, CANCER. Who would want to know or try and find out which cancer effects of alcohol can cause. Cancer is already bad enough as it is. No one want their livers inflamed or their breast cut off over something they can avoid or the can have control over. The good thing is that it can be reversed if you stop drinking once diagnosed.

3. Other effects

Effects of alcohol comes with age, especially as you get older is something that should be a must knowledge to all alcohol consumers. As we age, our muscles gets weaker so alcohol consumption is not about to make it any better for us. The older we get, the slower the alcohol takes to move on our blood stream which will eventually affect our liver. Excessive alcohol intake can also affect ones appearance negatively causing wrinkles and bad skin texture which is normally due to dehydration after consuming too much alcohol.

Do you love children or even want to have one your own someday? Even if it is just adding onto the one that you already have? Well, did you know that alcohol intake can ruin your body’s reproductive system? Meaning it can cause infertility in both men and women alike. It can cause menstrual cycle irregularities which in turn will interfere with the ovulation period in a woman leading to problem with conceiving. It can also damage men’s testicles causing them to shrink

However, at the New Frontier Medicine Academy institution, we can help take you through your healing process. We will help you with a comprehensive education and treatment that you need and require. For any information, please get in touch with us be you a victim or a physician and get your adequate help and knowledge as concerns effects of alcoholism. Our team of experts will work towards changing your life for the better, from the physical to the psychological aspect of it. Come to the New Frontier Academy for steadfast outcomes.

How Alcohol Affects Your Health

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When Is Your Alcoholism Getting Out Of Hand?

June 15, 2014

Signs of Alcoholism to watch out for

alcohol-addictionIs your adolescent son, wife or husband showing any behaviors you suspect could be signs of alcoholism? Well, you need to find out whether they are real or just your speculations. The sooner you notice these signs, the better. Fast action should be taken as soon as you read the signs before the situation runs out of hand. Alcoholism is not a one-time condition, the state develops overtime, it involves a series of behavior one begin depicting without their knowledge. Alcoholics go to an extent of denying these habits.

Prevention is better than cure, spotting the principal signs of addiction to alcohol is significant in saving lives of drunkards who at one point might just be at the verge of beginning to dig holes for their carcasses. Below are some signs to look out for if you suspect anyone you care about is being held captive under the spell of alcohol;

  • Forbearance to liquor

When you see them draining down several bottles of beer, wine or spirit and keep asking for more, take precaution. Alcoholism results into high tolerance to alcohol such that a victim may not feel the effect of small quantities alcohol. So when the trips to the counter increases beyond the normal, there are signs of alcoholism to watch out for.

Some drunkards get easily irritated when under the influence of alcohol, at times for no reason at all. In some cases they may show symptoms of depression or despair. As much as we would take it as an indicator of alcoholism, some victims may smile and laugh throughout their drunk times and react to most of the happenings in the surrounding with lots of humor.

  •  The undying urge to drink alcohol

One of the major signs of alcoholism is when one develops a compulsive need to take a bottle or two. Their systems become motors that can’t operate without fuel and all their activities are never complete without drinking beer. These kind of people may drink to the brake of dawn once they start because they will keep asking for more and more shots of tequila. A bottle to them is never enough.

  • Drinking in the company of their bottles

Alcoholics never drink in the company of their friends of families. Instead, they prefer sitting alone, just with their bottles and drink to infinity. They fear of being criticized makes them seclude themselves from the company of others. To them it is a private affair with the beer or wine and anyone who dares to disclose the secret might be considered a great enemy. Find out if your spouse is dating some bottle somewhere and taking stringent measure lest you lose them to liquor.

Are you shocked? Some things are disclosing and becoming clearer to you right? Keep reading for more signs of alcoholism

Of all the signs of alcoholism discussed above, this one is more advanced. They just keep forgetting, even the obvious and cheap things become complex and too expensive to afford keeping in mind. They wake up at dawn not knowing what exactly happened the previous night. Take caution if your sharp daughter’s grades begin dropping drastically, alcohol may be the explanation behind it.

  • “New traditions”

Victims of alcoholism develop rituals you may wonder their place of origin. All of a sudden they feel they can’t afford a sleep on a sober mind. So they develop the tradition and ensure they get drunk every single night for what they refer to as the “well-being” of their bodies. Anything that compromises their daily rituals could be fought to death. Be aware of the kind of husband that walks out after meals then come staggering their way to the bedroom.

  • Poor health and appearance

The moment their brains becomes dependent on alcohol, the victim begins experiencing periodical tremors, poor coordination, irritability, nausea and minor symptoms that come with alcohol. Furthermore, they may develop a dry sallow skin and red rimmed and sunken eyes. Alcohol might make them careless as to compromise their personal body hygiene and general outlook.

  • Turning to alcohol when stressed up

Perhaps your spouse goes drinking after an argument. Next time try and look into the reason behind the quarrel and watch if they will go get a bottle and a glass. Those are signs of alcoholism that call for action before the going gets tough and unbearable.

Consult Experts at the New Frontier Medicine Academy

Professionals from New Frontier Medicine Academy will help you detect any visible signs of alcoholism including the slightest ones. Our duty is to free you of the bondage of bottles and help you develop a healthy life by healing your body, mind and spirit. Come and experience the best of services at New Frontier with our qualified staff.

Signs of Alcoholism to watch out for

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Addiction Cure

June 15, 2014

Addiction Cure Is Of Great Relevance

Material abuse treatment is a behavior alteration therapy for those who use drugs and alcohol to the detriment of themselves and others. Regulation enforcement officials, politicians, and religious leaders often cite drug and alcohol abuse as tribulations so great that they threaten the survival of our civilization.

What is addiction management?

Addiction treatment is envisioned to help addicted persons stop compulsive drug seeking and use. Cure can occur in a variety of settings, take many different methods, and last for different lengths of time. Because drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterized by infrequent relapses, a short-term, one-time treatment is usually not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process that involves numerous interventions and regular nursing.

There is a variability of evidence-based tactics to treating addiction. Drug treatment can include behavioral therapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or contingency management, medications, or their amalgamation. The specific type of treatment or mixture of treatments will vary depending on the patient’s individual needs and, often, on the categories of drugs they have been using. Drug addiction treatment can include medications, behavioral therapies, or their combinations of managements.

Treatment medications, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone which include a new long-acting formulation which are available for individuals habituated to opioids, while nicotine preparations such as patches, gum, lozenges, and nasal spray, and the medications varenicline and bupropion are available for individuals addicted to tobacco. Disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone are medications obtainable for treating alcohol dependence,which commonly befalls with other drug addictions, including addiction to prescription medications.

Managements for prescription drug abuse incline to be similar to those for illegitimate drugs that affect the same brain systems. For instance, buprenorphine, used to treat heroin dependence, can also be used to treat addiction to opioid pain medications. Addiction to prescription amphetamines, which affect the same brain systems as illicit stimulants like cocaine, can be preserved with behavioral therapies, as there are not yet medications for treating addiction to these types of medications.

Interactive therapies can help persuade people to participate in drug handling, offer strategies for coping with drug hankerings, teach ways to avoid drugs and prevent relapse, and help individuals deal with relapse if it occurs. Behavioral therapies can also help people improve statements, relationships, and parenting skills, as well as family subtleties.

Numerousmanagementsequencers employ both individual and group therapies. Group therapy can provide social underpinning and help enforce interactive contingencies that promote self-restraint and a non-drug-using lifestyle. Certain of the more established behavioral treatments, such as eventuality management and cognitive-behavioral therapy, are also being adapted for group settings to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. However, particularly in adolescents, there can also be a danger of unintended harmful (or iatrogenic) effects of group treatment. From time to time group members especially groups of highly antisocial youth can reinforce drug use and thereby derail the purpose of the therapy. Consequently, trained counselors should be aware of and monitor for such belongings.

Since they work on dissimilar aspects of addiction, amalgamations of behavioral rehabilitations and medications,when obtainable, generally appear to be more effective than either approach used alone.Lastly, people who are addicted to drugs often suffer from other health e.g., downheartedness, HIV, occupational, legal, familial, and social problems that should be addressed concurrently. The best programs provide a mixture of therapies and other amenities to meet an individual patient’s needs.

Psychoactive medications, such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety agents, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotic medications, may be critical for treatment success when patients have co-occurring mental disorders such as unhappiness, anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. In addition, most people with severe addiction abuse multiple drugs and require treatment for all substances abused .Treatment for drug abuse and addiction is delivered in many different settings using a variety of behavioral and pharmacological viewpoints.

One more drug, topiramate, has also shown promise in studies and is sometimes prescribed off-label for this purpose although it has not received an official approval as a treatment for alcohol dependence.

How effective is drug addiction treatment?

In accumulation to stopping drug abuse, the penalty area of treatment is to return people to productive operational in the family, workplace, and community. According to research that tracks individuals in treatment over extended periods, most people who get into and remain in treatment stop using drugs, decrease their illicit activity, and improve their professional, social, and psychological functioning. For example, methadone behavior has been shown to increase participation in behavioral therapy and decrease both drug use and criminal behavior.

However, individual handling outcomes depend on the extent and nature of the patient’s problems, the correctness of treatment and related services used to address those problems, and the quality of interaction between the patient and his or her management benefactors. Relapse rates for addiction resemble those of other chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma

Start on the Road to Recovery Now

Individuals who are addicted to drugs or alcohol are designated as being “in recovery” when they are living abstemious lives. Being in recovery means you have power over your dependence. You are able to live a healthy, fulfilling life, free from the monopoly of addiction. You aren’t cured but you are in control.

New Frontier Medicine Academy

To take the first step toward recovery, visit New Frontier Medicine Academy to get information about drug abuse cure options. Whether the accurate fit for you is an inpatient program, an outpatient clinic or a luxury facility, help is available. Just VISIT now. Don’t wait; get help for your drug addiction today.

 

 

Addiction Cure

 

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